Winter tyres vs 4WD

[VectraMan]

The other thing is when it comes to drive, most cars have open diffs and are therefore 1WD. Whichever driven wheel has the least amount of grip will sit there spinning, and you'll go nowhere. 4WDs generally have cleverer diffs, as after all that's the point of having 4WD.

I've never tried them, but I'm told winter tyres are very good in snow. It's just a question of whether it's worth the investment for the amount of snow we're likely to get.

[ZARDOZ]

My mrs used to have a peugeot 206, it had very narrow tyres in comparison to most modern cars yet it was brilliant in the snow. It could get up hills that BMWs et al couldn't. I believe this is because narrow tryes cut through the snow and grip while wide tyres sit on the snow and skid.

[Sysman]

The other thing is when it comes to drive, most cars have open diffs and are therefore 1WD. Whichever driven wheel has the least amount of grip will sit there spinning, and you'll go nowhere. 4WDs generally have cleverer diffs, as after all that's the point of having 4WD.

That was occasionally a problem with my ancient Land Rover with no diff lock.

In really muddy/snowy/icy conditions you could get 1 wheel at the front and 1 wheel at the back spinning.

Bunging it into low ratio so that you didn't get to the spinning stage usually prevented you getting stuck though.

[Sysman]

My mrs used to have a peugeot 206, it had very narrow tyres in comparison to most modern cars yet it was brilliant in the snow. It could get up hills that BMWs et al couldn't. I believe this is because narrow tryes cut through the snow and grip while wide tyres sit on the snow and skid.

I had that with a Morris Minor.

Though a couple of paving stones and a few bags of sand in the boot helped.

[captainham]

As others have said, 4wd is great except for stopping.

The Impreza I overtook with ease last winter in my humble winter-tyred Fiat wasn't too pleased about it and overtook me back, only to slide straight on at the next roundabout and almost slid into a lamppost.

[the_rangdo]

I've a set of narrower, higher profile alloys with winter tyres for my 530D

Wasn't defeated last winter with that combination - actually made driving in the white stuff a bit of fun. Hit some black ice and summer tyres will let go with no real warning and no control afterwards. A couple of times on the M606 where a few other cars had hit black ice and bounced off the barrier it got light but was perfectly controllable.

The extra cost is absorbed to some extent as the 'summer' setup isn't being used so it'll even out over time - that and reducing the likelihood of an expensive claim

[sasguru]

So to summarise, as I want to preserve my inheritance, the best solution is a 2nd hand Fiat Panda 4x4 equipped with skinny winter tyres?
Come to think of it, that's what they use a lot in the Dolomites. Place is crawling with ancient Panda 4x4s that go up the steep snowy inclines like mountain goats.

[d000hg]

The point about 4wd not making the tyres any better at braking is valid, but you're still going to have far greater control with 4wd than 2wd with the same tyres. It wasn't mentioned if pater is talking front or rear 2WD because that's a huge difference! I remember watching all the powerful BMWs unable to get off the estate up the slightest of inclines last time we had proper snow, while crappy old fiesta/focus/etc drove round them without issues.

Also though, wouldn't a 4WD typically have better individual-wheel braking making it better on bad tyres anyway?

[captainham]

I've never tried them, but I'm told winter tyres are very good in snow. It's just a question of whether it's worth the investment for the amount of snow we're likely to get.

I have to say, they're pretty mega. Even in dry conditions below 7 degrees is still good, as the rubber is softer so stays more flexible versus summer tyres.

If you can get hold of some steel wheels or some eBay wheels, then you've nothing to lose really as they will extend the life of your normal tyres by an equal amount, so they're basically cost neutral.

A trolley jack is helpful, as the standard emergency jacks in most cars will have you in tears when it's bitterly cold and you're not even halfway through winding the first feckin' wheel up.

[VectraMan]

My mrs used to have a peugeot 206, it had very narrow tyres in comparison to most modern cars yet it was brilliant in the snow. It could get up hills that BMWs et al couldn't. I believe this is because narrow tryes cut through the snow and grip while wide tyres sit on the snow and skid.

If you ever watch Rally Sweden, they all have incredibly skinny wheels with studded ice tyres and drive at silly speeds.

Having most the weight over the drive wheels helps too. That gives FWD cars and Porsches an advantage that BMWs won't have. My S2000 with its perfect 50/50 weight distribution and wide extreme performance summer tyres is not good.